Zhan Guo Ce
Encyclopedia
The Zhan Guo Ce is a renowned ancient Chinese historical work and compilation of sporadic materials on the Warring States Period
compiled between the 3rd to 1st centuries BCE. It is an important text of the Warring States Period as it accounts the strategies and political views of the School of Diplomacy
and reveals the historical and social characteristics of the period.
and his peers before being obtained by Liu Xiang
. Unlike most of the pre-Qin classics, the authenticity of Zhan Guo Ce, along with the Shijing, Mozi
, Yulingzi and Gongsun Longzi
had never been questioned since the Western Han period. The earliest to assert the texts were apocryphal scriptures was perhaps the compiler of the Annotated Catalogue
of the Siku Quanshu
, but he provided no warrant for it. In 1931, Luo Genze put forward an argument that the book was composed by Kuai Tong in his two papers based on six conclusions which he drawn, a contemporary of Han Xin
. Although this argument had been seconded by Jin Dejian (1932) and Zu Zhugeng (1937), but by 1939 it was refuted by Zhang Xincheng.
The six versions of written works from the School of Diplomacy were discovered by Liu Xiang during his editing and proofreading of the imperial literary collection. Those works of political views and diplomatic strategies from the School of Diplomacy were in poor condition, with confusing contents and missing words. Liu Xiang proofread and edited them into the new book under the title Zhan Guo Ce; it was therefore not written by a single author at one time.
Significant contents of Zhan Guo Ce were lost in subsequent centuries. Zeng Gong
of the Northern Song Dynasty
reclaimed some lost chapters, proofread and edited the modern version. Some writings on cloth were excavated from the Han Dynasty
tomb at Mawangdui
near the city of Changsha in 1973 and edited and published in Beijing
in 1976 as Zhanguo Zonghengjia Shu ". The book contained 27 chapters, 11 of which were found to be similar to the contents in Zhan Guo Ce and the Records of the Grand Historian
. That publication appeared in Taiwan
in 1977 as the Boshu Zhanguoce . The texts were written in between the style of Seal script
and Clerical script
. The transcript was probably composed around 195 BCE before its burial, as the text tend to avoid using the word bang (邦), the personal name of Emperor Gao of Han.
clan
by the Zhi clan in 490 BC up to the failed assassination
of Qin Shi Huang
by Gao Jianli
in 221 BC.
The book comprises approximately 120,000 words, and is divided into 33 chapters and 497 sections. The twelve strategies are:
Received texts, "Qin defeated Wei at Hua, put Mang Mao to flight, and besieged Daliang" (Wei 3:3):
Manwangdui texts, "Spoke to the king of Yan" (Chapter 20):
Received texts, "Qi attacked Song, Song was hard pressed" (Yan 1:11):
Sophisticated intellectual contents of ZGC mainly reveal the intellectual inclination of the followers of the School of Diplomacy and illustrate the intellectual wealth and multicultural aspects of the period.
The literary achievement of the ZGC is also outstanding - it signifies a new era in the development of ancient Chinese literature
. Among other aspects, character description, language usage and metaphorical stories demonstrate rich and clear literary quality. ZGC greatly exerts influence on the format of the later Record of the Grand Historian.
Nevertheless, its intellectual aspects have also been disputed, mainly due to its stress on fame and profit and its conflicts with Confucian ideology. The book appears to overemphasize the historical contributions from the School of Diplomacy, devaluing the book's historical importance.
The book does not emphasize the historical facts or fiction, but appears to be an extensive collection of anecdotes with little bearing to the chronological order of chapter and narration. Since the 12th century, it has been widely debated whether the book should be considered a historical documentation from writer Chao Gongwu and Gao Sisun, and there have been attempts to categorize the book into a different genus. This lasted until 1936 where scholars like Zhong Fengnian demonstrated that the book was written as a handbook of diction from the School of Diplomacy, and not intended to be a compilation of historical facts.
Warring States Period
The Warring States Period , also known as the Era of Warring States, or the Warring Kingdoms period, covers the Iron Age period from about 475 BC to the reunification of China under the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC...
compiled between the 3rd to 1st centuries BCE. It is an important text of the Warring States Period as it accounts the strategies and political views of the School of Diplomacy
School of Diplomacy
The School of Diplomacy , or "School of Vertical and Horizontal" Alliances was a political and diplomatic clique during the Warring States Period of Chinese history...
and reveals the historical and social characteristics of the period.
History
The author of Zhan Guo Ce has not yet been verified: it is generally deemed, after Zhang Xincheng, that the book was not written by a single author at one time. It is thought to have been composed by Su QinSu Qin
Su Qin , was an influential political strategist during the Warring States Period of Chinese history . He was born in Chengxuan Village, Luoyang in present day Henan Province. According to legend Su Qin was a disciple of Gui Guzi, the founder of the School of Diplomacy...
and his peers before being obtained by Liu Xiang
Liu Xiang (author)
Liu Xiang , born Liu Gengsheng , courtesy name Zizheng , was a famous Confucian scholar of the Han Dynasty. He was born in Xuzhou and related to Liu Bang, the founder of the Han dynasty...
. Unlike most of the pre-Qin classics, the authenticity of Zhan Guo Ce, along with the Shijing, Mozi
Mozi
Mozi |Lat.]] as Micius, ca. 470 BC – ca. 391 BC), original name Mo Di , was a Chinese philosopher during the Hundred Schools of Thought period . Born in Tengzhou, Shandong Province, China, he founded the school of Mohism, and argued strongly against Confucianism and Daoism...
, Yulingzi and Gongsun Longzi
Gongsun Longzi
Gongsun Long was a member of the School of Names of ancient Chinese philosophy. He also ran a school and enjoyed the support of rulers, and supported peaceful means of resolving disputes in contrast to the wars which were common in the period...
had never been questioned since the Western Han period. The earliest to assert the texts were apocryphal scriptures was perhaps the compiler of the Annotated Catalogue
Siku Quanshu Zongmu Tiyao
The Siku Quanshu Zongmu Tiyao , or Annotated Catalog of the Complete Imperial Library, is an annotated catalog of the thousands of works that were considered for inclusion in the Siku Quanshu. Work for the 200-chapter catalog began in 1773 and was completed in 1798. The Siku Zongmu, as it is also...
of the Siku Quanshu
Siku Quanshu
The Siku Quanshu, variously translated as the Imperial Collection of Four, Emperor's Four Treasuries, Complete Library in Four Branches of Literature, or Complete Library of the Four Treasuries, is the largest collection of books in Chinese history and probably the most ambitious editorial...
, but he provided no warrant for it. In 1931, Luo Genze put forward an argument that the book was composed by Kuai Tong in his two papers based on six conclusions which he drawn, a contemporary of Han Xin
Hán Xìn
Han Xin was a military general who served Liu Bang during the Chu–Han contention and contributed greatly to the founding of the Han Dynasty...
. Although this argument had been seconded by Jin Dejian (1932) and Zu Zhugeng (1937), but by 1939 it was refuted by Zhang Xincheng.
The six versions of written works from the School of Diplomacy were discovered by Liu Xiang during his editing and proofreading of the imperial literary collection. Those works of political views and diplomatic strategies from the School of Diplomacy were in poor condition, with confusing contents and missing words. Liu Xiang proofread and edited them into the new book under the title Zhan Guo Ce; it was therefore not written by a single author at one time.
Significant contents of Zhan Guo Ce were lost in subsequent centuries. Zeng Gong
Zeng Gong
Zeng Gong , courtesy name Zigu , was a Chinese scholar and historian of the Song Dynasty in China. He was one of the supporters of the New Classical Prose Movement and is regarded as founder of one of the Eight Great Schools of Thought of the Tang and Song dynasties .Zeng Gong was born in Jianchang...
of the Northern Song Dynasty
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
reclaimed some lost chapters, proofread and edited the modern version. Some writings on cloth were excavated from the Han Dynasty
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
tomb at Mawangdui
Mawangdui Silk Texts
The Mawangdui Silk Texts are texts of Chinese philosophical and medical works written on silk and found at Mawangdui in China in 1973. They include some of the earliest attested manuscripts of existing texts such as the I Ching, two copies of the Tao Te Ching, one similar copy of Strategies of the...
near the city of Changsha in 1973 and edited and published in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
in 1976 as Zhanguo Zonghengjia Shu ". The book contained 27 chapters, 11 of which were found to be similar to the contents in Zhan Guo Ce and the Records of the Grand Historian
Records of the Grand Historian
The Records of the Grand Historian, also known in English by the Chinese name Shiji , written from 109 BC to 91 BC, was the Magnum opus of Sima Qian, in which he recounted Chinese history from the time of the Yellow Emperor until his own time...
. That publication appeared in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
in 1977 as the Boshu Zhanguoce . The texts were written in between the style of Seal script
Seal script
Seal script is an ancient style of Chinese calligraphy. It evolved organically out of the Zhōu dynasty script , arising in the Warring State of Qin...
and Clerical script
Clerical script
The clerical script , also formerly chancery script, is an archaic style of Chinese calligraphy which evolved in the Warring States period to the Qin dynasty, was dominant in the Han dynasty, and remained in use through the Wèi-Jìn periods...
. The transcript was probably composed around 195 BCE before its burial, as the text tend to avoid using the word bang (邦), the personal name of Emperor Gao of Han.
Content
The Zhan Guo Ce recounts the history of the Warring States from the conquest of the FanFan (surname)
Fan is a transliteration for some Chinese family names, of which the most common ones are 范 and 樊 .-Origin and branch of Fàn :*The Fan trace their origin to the Yao, a legendary Chinese ruler who lived from 2358 - 2258 BCE. Until the Zhou Dynasty 1122–256 BCE they are grouped with the Du clan...
clan
Clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
by the Zhi clan in 490 BC up to the failed assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
of Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang , personal name Ying Zheng , was king of the Chinese State of Qin from 246 BC to 221 BC during the Warring States Period. He became the first emperor of a unified China in 221 BC...
by Gao Jianli
Gao Jianli
Gao Jianli was a citizen of Yan, a Chinese state during the Warring States Period, and a player of the zhu . After Jing Ke was killed in his assassination attempt on Qin Shi Huang, Gao changed his name and became an assistant in a wine shop as Qin Shi Huang retaliated against all friends of Jing Ke...
in 221 BC.
The book comprises approximately 120,000 words, and is divided into 33 chapters and 497 sections. The twelve strategies are:
| ## | Chinese | Translation | Context Identical with Manwangdui Chapters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 东周策 | Strategies of Eastern Zhou | Nil |
| 02 | 西周策 | Strategies of Western Zhou | |
| 03 | 秦策 |
| Chapter 19/Qin 3:2 |
| 04 | |||
| 05 | |||
| 06 | |||
| 07 | |||
| 08 | 齐策 | Strategies of Qi | Nil |
| 09 | |||
| 10 | |||
| 11 | |||
| 12 | |||
| 13 | |||
| 14 | 楚策 | Strategies of Chu | Chapter 23/Chu 4:13 |
| 15 | |||
| 16 | |||
| 17 | |||
| 18 | 赵策 | Strategies of Zhao | Chapter 21/Zhao 1:9 Chapter 18/Zhao 4:18 |
| 19 | |||
| 20 | |||
| 21 | |||
| 22 | 魏策 | Strategies of Wei | Chapter 15/Wei 3:3 Chapter 16/Wei 3:8 |
| 23 | |||
| 24 | |||
| 25 | |||
| 26 | 韩策 | Strategies of Han | Chapter 23/Han 1:16 |
| 27 | |||
| 28 | |||
| 29 | 燕策 | Strategies of Yan | Chapter 05/Yan 1:5 and Yan 1:12 Chapter 20/Yan 1:11 Chapter 04/Yan 2:4 |
| 30 | |||
| 31 | |||
| 32 | 宋、卫策 | Strategies of Song and Wei | Nil |
| 33 | 中山策 | Strategies of Zhongshan |
Comparison in original Chinese
Manwangdui texts, "Xujia spoke to the Marquis of Rang" (Chapter 15):华军，秦战胜魏，走孟卯，攻大粱（梁）。须贾说穰侯曰：“臣闻魏长吏胃（谓）魏王曰：…《周书》曰：‘唯命不为常。’此言幸之不可数也。夫战胜暴子，割八县之地，此非兵力之请（精）也，非计虑之攻（工）也，夫天幸为多今有（又）走孟卯，入北宅，以攻大粱（梁），是以天幸自为常也。知（智）者不然。臣闻魏氏悉其百县胜甲以上，以戎（戍）大粱（梁），臣以为不下卅万。以卅万之众，守七仞之城，臣以为汤武复生，弗易攻也。夫轻倍（背）楚、赵之兵，陵七刃（仞）之城，犯卅万之众，而志必举之，臣以为自天地始分，以至于今，未之尝有也。攻而弗拔，秦兵必罢（疲），陶必亡，则前功有必弃矣。…
Received texts, "Qin defeated Wei at Hua, put Mang Mao to flight, and besieged Daliang" (Wei 3:3):
秦败魏于华，走芒卯而围大梁。须贾为魏谓穰侯叶：“臣闻魏氏大臣父兄皆谓魏王曰：…《周书》曰：‘维命不于常。’此言幸之不可数也。夫战胜睾子，而割八县，此非兵力之精，非计之工也，天幸为多矣。今又走芒卯，入北地，以攻大梁，是以天幸自为常也。知者不然。“臣闻魏氏悉其百县胜兵，以止戍大梁，琛以为不下三十万。以三十万之众，守十仞之城，臣以为虽汤、武复生，弗易攻也。夫轻信楚、赵之兵，陵十仞之城，戴三十万之众，而志必举之，臣以为自天下之始分以至于今，未尝有之也。攻而不能拔，秦兵必罢，阴必亡，则前功必弃矣。…
Manwangdui texts, "Spoke to the king of Yan" (Chapter 20):
胃（谓）燕王曰：“夫列在万乘，奇（寄）质于齐，名卑而权轻。奉万乘助齐伐宋，民劳而实费。夫以宋加之淮北，强万乘之国也，而齐兼之，是益齐也。九夷方一百里，加以鲁卫，强万乘之国也，而齐兼之，是益二齐也。夫一齐之强，燕犹弗能支，今以三齐临燕，其过（祸）比大。唯（虽）然，夫知（智）者之【举】事，因过（祸）【而为】福，转败而为功。齐紫，败素也，贾（价）十倍。句浅栖会稽，其后残吴，霸天下。此皆因过（祸）为福，转败而为功。…
Received texts, "Qi attacked Song, Song was hard pressed" (Yan 1:11):
齐伐宋，宋急。苏代乃遗燕昭王书曰：“夫列在万乘，而寄质于齐，名卑而权轻。秦、齐助之伐宋，民劳而实费。破宋，残楚淮北，肥大齐，雠强国，国弱也。此三者，皆国之大败也，而足下行之，将欲以除害取信于齐也。而齐未加信于足下，而忌燕也愈甚矣。然则足下之事齐也，失所为矣。夫民劳而实费，又无尺寸之功，破宋肥雠，而世负其祸矣。足下以宋加淮北，强万乘之国也，而齐并之，是益一齐也。北夷方七百里，加之以鲁、卫，此所谓强万乘之国也，而齐并之，是益二齐也。夫一齐之强，而燕犹不能支也，今乃以三齐临燕，其祸必大矣。“虽然，臣闻知者之举事也，转祸而为福，因败而成功者也。齐人紫败素也，而贾十倍。越王勾践栖于会稽，而后残吴霸天下。此皆转祸而为福，因败而为功者也。…
Literary criticism
ZGC displays the social aspects and scholastic habitat of the Warring States Period. Not just a brilliant historical work, it is an excellent historical literature and novel. Major events and historical information of the period are represented in objective and vivid descriptions. Detailed records of speeches and deeds by followers of the School of Diplomacy reveal the mental makeup and intellectual expertise of the characters. Acts of righteousness, bravery and determination by numerous characters are also recorded.Sophisticated intellectual contents of ZGC mainly reveal the intellectual inclination of the followers of the School of Diplomacy and illustrate the intellectual wealth and multicultural aspects of the period.
The literary achievement of the ZGC is also outstanding - it signifies a new era in the development of ancient Chinese literature
Chinese literature
Chinese literature extends thousands of years, from the earliest recorded dynastic court archives to the mature fictional novels that arose during the Ming Dynasty to entertain the masses of literate Chinese...
. Among other aspects, character description, language usage and metaphorical stories demonstrate rich and clear literary quality. ZGC greatly exerts influence on the format of the later Record of the Grand Historian.
Nevertheless, its intellectual aspects have also been disputed, mainly due to its stress on fame and profit and its conflicts with Confucian ideology. The book appears to overemphasize the historical contributions from the School of Diplomacy, devaluing the book's historical importance.
The book does not emphasize the historical facts or fiction, but appears to be an extensive collection of anecdotes with little bearing to the chronological order of chapter and narration. Since the 12th century, it has been widely debated whether the book should be considered a historical documentation from writer Chao Gongwu and Gao Sisun, and there have been attempts to categorize the book into a different genus. This lasted until 1936 where scholars like Zhong Fengnian demonstrated that the book was written as a handbook of diction from the School of Diplomacy, and not intended to be a compilation of historical facts.
Alternative English titles
Alternative English titles include:- Stratagems of the Warring States,
- Intrigues of the Warring States,
- Chronicles of the Warring States,
- Records of the Warring States,
- Record of the Warring States,
- Annals of the Warring States,
- The Strategies of the Warring States,
- Strategies of the Warring States,
- Strategics of the Warring States,
- Collection of Strategies of the Warring States,
- Book of Warring States,
- Legends of the Warring States